This spring, Idaho Statesman reporter Roger Phillips and photographer Kim Hughes spent 30 days from March 14 to April 20 embedded with the Idaho National Guard's 116th Brigade Combat Team in northern Iraq. The two Boise-based journalists have covered the 116th's deployment and training since June 2004.
"We traveled twice to Fort Bliss, Texas, and once to Fort Polk, La. And we went with the governor (Dirk Kempthorne) for the Thanksgiving sendoff," Hughes said.
Phillips and Hughes are speaking about their days in Iraq and the experiences of the Guardsmen at 7 p.m. Monday, May 16, at the Mountain Village Conference Room in Stanley. Sponsored by the Sawtooth Mountain Mamas, their free talk is titled "I went to Iraq to cover a war and ended up covering a kindergarten pageant ... ." It includes a photo presentation with a question and answer period to follow.
"There's a hunger for this," Hughes said. "We did a private showing for the family members of the Guard when we returned and later a public show here in Boise. People want to know what's going on."
Over the course of nearly a year, the two journalists have gotten to know several of the families and many of the Guardsmen.
"We met the guys with Bravo (Company) the first time we went down to Fort Bliss," Hughes said. "Our intent was to go all the way to Iraq. We built up relationships so there was comfort on both sides. I know a lot about their families now. We invited the families in before we left and recognized kids from the pictures we'd seen before. And when we went (the soldiers) there were anxious to talk about home. You do get close to them."
Hughes, 33, had a birthday while in Iraq. But one of the highlights of her stay involved something unexpected.
"One of the coolest things that ever happened to me—it was all amazing, of course—but the most unique thing was when we pulled up in a Humvee at a hospital with toys collected from kids in Eagle (Idaho). All the kids outside waved and smiled. I saw one little boy and his dad holding hands. While we were saying hello, the boy saw me, ripped his hand away from his dad and ran over to me. I thought he'd want his picture taken because they all do, but he held out a little bouquet of flowers from behind his back and gave it to me. We just stood there dumbfounded. It broke my heart, it was just magical."
Hughes and Phillips did end up at a kindergarten pageant at one point, a bit wary of how the many Iraqi parents would treat them. Hughes admits they were always on guard.
"You don't know who to trust over there. You're always watchful. You watch the soldiers' body language. If they're relaxed, you can relax. Once we had a meeting on top of a police station with religious leaders and community leaders and cars were circling the building. The guys got kind of nervous," she recalled. "The next day that station was attacked. Five of the police officers were killed.
"I didn't realize there were so many little things the soldiers were doing. They're meeting with community leaders, building things, rooting out insurgents, and all the time hoping that people will help."
Phillips wrote in a dispatch for the Statesman in late April:
"Soldiers from the 116th have completed, or have in the works, about $10.8 million worth of public works projects in Kirkuk, but it's not nearly enough to do all that's needed. The money comes from a pot of U.S. reconstruction funds that 116th soldiers can try to tap for civil reconstruction projects. The challenges are many. To begin with, it's dangerous to be seen cooperating with American—even in relatively stable Kirkuk."
Hughes came back with an interesting take. You don't have to be a journalist in a big city to get the good stories.
"I don't want to be a war photographer. I love Idaho. The stories are in the community I care about. For Idaho, these are citizen soldiers, our neighbors our friends."
Journalists speak on experience
To get to Mountain Village in Stanley, drive north from Ketchum approximately 60 miles on Highway 75. At Stanley take a left onto Highway 21. Mountain Village is almost immediately on the right. (208) 774-3661.
A soldier helps an Iraqi mother and her son find the right fitting sandals, donated by Idahoans. Photos by Kim Hughes/Idaho Statesman
